When my dad was diagnosed with dementia, I had no idea how much it would impact my life. He lived alone halfway across the country and was still driving. The "still driving" terrified me.

There was no guide to the uncharted territories of dementia and senior living. There were many challenges; geography, family dynamics, Veteran's Affairs, and the two-sided coin of finances and the disease progression.

Fast forward, I joined senior living in 2019. Now some would say that was a bad time to join the industry, the pandemic was on the horizon. I say it's exactly where I wanted to be...where I could make a difference in my community, with our seniors.

Our Founder

LET'S TALK

The Thrift Box Members Dinner
Sarah, Martha, and Katie

The Womans Club of Palo Alto
Leslie and Katie

MEET KATIE COONEY

Founder, Hand n’ Hand Senior Placement
Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)

Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP)

Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) DRE 02160836

When families are searching for senior living, they are often doing so during one of the most stressful moments of their lives.

Katie Cooney understands that deeply.

She is the founder of Hand n’ Hand Senior Placement, a concierge senior living advisory service helping families across Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Peninsula find the right assisted living, memory care, and supportive living communities for the people they love.

Katie is widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most trusted senior living advisors, known for her rare combination of compassion, strategic thinking, and hands-on support during times of crisis.

Her philosophy is simple:

Guiding families through senior living transitions with clarity, compassion, and integrity you can trust.

Frontline Experience During the Pandemic

From 2019 through 2023, Katie worked inside assisted living and memory care communities, including during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During that time, she supported residents, families, and care teams navigating one of the most difficult chapters senior living communities have ever faced.

When families were unable to visit their loved ones due to safety restrictions, Katie was often the person sitting beside residents — holding hands, offering comfort, and ensuring no one faced their final hours alone.

That experience shaped her understanding of what truly matters in senior care: dignity, human connection, and the importance of choosing the right community.

Today, families trust Katie not only for her expertise, but because they know she has been on the front lines of senior care when it mattered most.

A Concierge Approach Backed by Strategy

Before launching Hand n’ Hand Senior Placement, Katie built a career rooted in technology, business strategy, and startup execution.

That background allows her to approach senior living transitions differently than many traditional placement advisors.

Katie doesn’t simply provide lists of communities. She strategically evaluates care needs, financial considerations, family dynamics, and lifestyle goals to help families make thoughtful, informed decisions.

Her deep relationships with senior living communities — built from working inside them — give her insight into:

• how communities truly operate
• which environments best support specific care needs
• when communities may be offering special pricing or incentives
• which teams provide exceptional care

Because Katie prepares families well and advocates for successful placements, communities trust and enjoy working with her.

Families often say that when working with Katie, they feel like they are her only client.

Real Estate Expertise for Life Transitions

Katie also serves as a Senior Real Estate Specialist with Intero Real Estate Services, helping seniors and their families navigate the housing side of life transitions — whether downsizing, selling the family home, or preparing for a move into a care community.

Her unique dual expertise allows families to receive seamless guidance through both the emotional and logistical aspects of major life changes.

Personal Experience as a Family Caregiver

Katie’s work is also deeply personal.

She currently cares for her 88-year-old mother in her home, giving her a firsthand understanding of the emotional and practical realities families face when supporting aging parents.

That perspective informs everything she does.

Katie often says she is not in this work for awards or accolades.

She does it to help families move from crisis to calm.

A Global Perspective on Service

Katie’s philosophy of care has also been shaped by a lifetime of travel and service.

She has visited nearly 100 countries, working and volunteering throughout Asia and Africa, including service in orphanages in India, Japan, Uganda, and Rwanda.

These experiences instilled a deep respect for human dignity and the belief that every person deserves compassion, connection, and community.

Community Leadership

Katie is deeply engaged in community service and professional organizations, including:

• Society of Certified Senior Advisors
• National Placement & Referral Alliance
• National Association of Women Business Owners
• Peninsula Executives Association

• San Jose Women's Auxiliary

• Womans Club of Palo Alto

• Mothers Symposium
• Rotary International/ Palo Alto/University Rotary Club

She served as President of the Palo Alto/University Rotary Club (2019–2020), guiding the organization through the transition to virtual meetings and service projects during the pandemic.

Peninsula Executives Association
Trusted Industry Partners
Karen Wray, Deanne Belcher, RN, and Katie

Larry Christenson & Katie Cooney, Palo Alto/University Rotary Club

Palo Alto/University Rotary Club
Past Presidents, Larry Christenson and Katie

A Story of Love, Loss, & Survival
The COVID-19 Shutdown

Working in a senior living community during the pandemic was a combination of the TV shows MASH and The Office. Fortunately, our team was smart, funny, dedicated, and knew how to turn from humor to laser-focused attention on a dime.

Every morning, I'd check the Johns Hopkins website to see the pandemic's reach, how many cases? Where was it spreading? Do I know anyone infected? Probably so and there was nothing I could do about it. It took me a while, maybe when the entire globe was RED, that I finally stopped this daily ritual.

We heard the virus could be in your hair, so I bought a few caps and wore them. I looked a little ridiculous and felt a little silly, but it helped me feel less anxious. I read the virus could land on jewelry or get into your make-up, those two practices went out the window. Remember when you wiped down your groceries? Everything was a potential threat. I finally ditched the caps, wore my wedding ring, and put on some lipstick. If this was it, I wanted to at least have lipstick on.

We welcomed the last resident before the March 15th shutdown. I unpacked her belongings, as we didn't allow family or friends inside the community. I hung her shirts and slacks by color in the closet and placed her toiletries in the medicine cabinet. I hoped she'd like how I arranged the room. The only thing I had any control over, make it nice.

When she arrived, I pushed her wheelchair into the lobby. Behind masks, we communicated mostly through "smiling" eyes. She was gracious and exhausted. Our nurse then took over the intake.

For the next three months, I tried to make her life more than being isolated. We chatted about her life, surviving a Nazi-occupied European city, and the interests we shared. I was driven to make her life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. I wanted her to feel she had a friend.

For all the residents, we engage them, support them, and encourage them from the doors of their apartments. They were also scared of being infected and didn't want us entering into their space.

I helped with window visits, IT support on phones and computers, connected TV boxes to cable services, and took orders for various sundries; toothpaste, snacks, and the like. Many residents didn't have families to order and ship items to the community, so we did that part.

As the months dragged on, residents who once sported red, brown, or black hair suddenly were crowned with roots of grey, white, and silver! One of my favorite residents wore her auburn-colored short wig over her silver locks that peeked out underneath. We finally convinced her to go with the natural and ditch the wig. She looked gorgeous!

We had fog machines to kill the virus in the air and spray bottles full of virus-killing solutions to clean, wipe, and sanitize all surfaces. Then repeat, hourly. We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned, and realized the greatest threat was not the virus, but isolation and loneliness.

Residents of senior living communities were declining from loneliness. Their physical and mental health suffered terribly. It was hard to reconcile that this was the final stage of many residents' journeys. Cut off from family, friends, and the community, I loved them and supported them until their passing. I often say I was their last friend.